Donna Gladys Machado Sánchez, La Habana, Plaza de la Revolución, Rampa, 2016, framed chromogenic print mounted to Alu-Dibond paper: 70 7/8 x 93 1/2 inches (180 x 237.5 cm), framed: 72 7/16 x 95 1/16 x 2 3/16 inches (184 x 241.5 x 5.5 cm), edition of 5 with 2 APs © Frank Thiel / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn, Courtesy: Sean Kelly, New York
Maria Carla Hidalgo Fernández, La Habana, Playa, Cubanacán, 2015, framed chromogenic print mounted to Alu-Dibond paper: 90 15/16 x 69 11/16 inches (231 x 177 cm), framed: 92 1/2 x 71 1/4 x 2 3/16 inches (235 x 181 x 5.5 cm), edition of 5 with 2 APs © Frank Thiel / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn, Courtesy: Sean Kelly, New York
Daniela Lucrecia Márquez Rivero, La Habana, Centro Habana, Colón, Tacón, 2015, framed chromogenic print mounted to Alu-Dibond paper: 70 7/8 x 91 5/16 inches (180 x 232 cm), framed: 72 7/16 x 92 15/16 x 2 3/16 inches (184 x 236 x 5.5 cm), edition of 5 with 2 APs © Frank Thiel / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn, Courtesy: Sean Kelly, New York
Claudia Sholans Peña Gonzáles, La Habana, La Lisa, Versalles - Coronela, La Corbata, 2016, framed chromogenic print mounted to Alu-Dibond paper: 90 15/16 x 67 7/8 inches (231 x 172.5 cm), framed: 92 1/2 x 69 1/2 x 2 3/16 inches (235 x 176.5 x 5.5 cm), edition of 5 with 2 APs © Frank Thiel / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn, Courtesy: Sean Kelly, New York
Damay y Yamay Gómez Hernández, La Habana, Plaza de la Revolución, Nuevo Vedado, 2015, framed chromogenic print paper: 90 15/16 x 130 1/8 inches (231 x 330.5 cm), framed: 92 7/8 x 132 1/8 x 2 3/8 inches (236 x 335.5 x 6 cm), edition of 5 with 2 APs © Frank Thiel / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn, Courtesy: Sean Kelly, New York
Gabriela León Greenup, La Habana, Cerro, Latinoamericano (Carraguao), 2016, framed chromogenic print mounted to Alu-Dibond paper: 90 15/16 x 69 11/16 inches (231 x 177 cm), framed: 92 1/2 x 71 1/4 x 2 3/16 inches (235 x 181 x 5.5 cm), edition of 5 with 2 APs © Frank Thiel / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn, Courtesy: Sean Kelly, New York
Aurora Lawton de la Caridad Tamayo Genes, La Habana, Centro Habana, Dragones, Monserrate, 2015, framed chromogenic print mounted to Alu-Dibond paper: 90 15/16 x 69 5/16 inches (231 x 176 cm), framed: 92 1/2 x 70 7/8 x 2 3/16 inches (235 x 180 x 5.5 cm) edition of 5 with 2 APs © Frank Thiel / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn, Courtesy: Sean Kelly, New York
Melany Linares Díaz, La Habana, Playa, Miramar, La Puntilla, 2015, framed chromogenic print mounted to Alu-Dibond paper: 90 15/16 x 68 5/16 inches (231 x 173.5 cm), framed: 92 1/2 x 69 7/8 x 2 3/16 inches (235 x 177.5 x 5.5 cm), edition of 5 with 2 APs © Frank Thiel / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn, Courtesy: Sean Kelly, New York
Lisandra de la Caridad Rodríguez Ramayo, La Habana, Arroyo Naranjo, Mantilla, 2016, framed chromogenic print mounted to Alu-Dibond paper: 79 1/8 x 70 1/2 inches (201 x 179 cm), framed: 80 11/16 x 72 1/16 x 2 3/16 inches (205 x 183 x 5.5 cm), edition of 5 with 2 APs © Frank Thiel / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn, Courtesy: Sean Kelly, New York
We’re told millennials will change the world.
Frank Thiel has been photographing 15-year-old Cuban women born in 2000 on the day of their Quince, a ubiquitous rite of passage for young women in Latin America. The images he made are the subject of a current exhibition called “15[Quince]” at the Sean Kelly Gallery in New York.
Across most Latin communities, the Quince tradition recognizes a Quinceañera’s transition from childhood to adulthood and is considered among life’s most important events. In a departure from typical Quinceañera photographs that glorify Cuban culture, Thiel chose to photograph the young women in their own neighborhoods. The images aim to create a complex visual journey through Havana’s urban and often worn landscape, “providing an intimate depiction of a city that is often idealized and romanticized,” states the press release.
Offering a visual metaphor of empowered young women coming of age and representing the future of Cuba, Thiel juxtaposes the women against the shifting social and economic climate of the city. As the press release explains, “Just as these fifteen-year-olds embody a state of flux, hovering in a state between childhood and adulthood, Cuba remains in a state of uncertain transition, its future evolving like that of these young women.”
Sean Kelly Gallery
15 [Quince]
February 10 – March 18, 2018
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Beautiful! You really are empowered, you did not know this incredible and exciting ceremony.